


heart made of glass, my mind of stone

by Raayy



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Slavery, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, For MC and the brothers, Gen, Gender-Neutral Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Healing, Heavy Angst, Humiliation, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Main Character is named Yuki, Main focus of the fic is Belphegor and his relationship to Main Character, Mistreatment, Non-Sexual Slavery, Objectification, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Platonic Relationships, Please tell me if there's more tags I should add, Psychological Trauma, There's a slight Belphie/MC at the end, but all the brothers will show up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:27:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27963017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raayy/pseuds/Raayy
Summary: Deep down, though, he knew it to not be true. He couldn’t remember well, it had been centuries ago and he was so small, but he had a family. They played together, and they were happy. They laughed and cried and genuinely cared for each other. Sometimes, he'd have fuzzy dreams about his family, and he'd always wake up crying.Today was one of those days.A dark fic based on one ofInvertedPhantasmagoria's AUs, this is a story about healing.Please pay attention to the tags!
Relationships: Belphegor & Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Belphegor/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Everyone
Comments: 7
Kudos: 56





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anything warned in the tags is upsetting or triggering for you, please regulate your reading and don't proceed further.  
> Beta read by my lovely friend Rider, who does not have a lot of social media accounts, but who still deserves the credit and my gratitude ❤

It had been so long since Belphegor had known anything resembling happiness, he might have forgotten what that felt like. Sometimes, his days sucked a little less, and he didn’t get hit as much, and he thought maybe that's what happiness was. It didn’t feel anything close to the smiles and laughter of the humans in charge of him, but… maybe that's just how it is. Demon happiness was getting the scraps of food fallen from their owners’ tables; human happiness was a utopia he could not reach.

Deep down, though, he knew it to not be true. He couldn’t remember well, it had been centuries ago and he was so small, but he had a family. They played together, and they were happy. They laughed and cried and genuinely cared for each other. Sometimes, he'd have fuzzy dreams about his family, and he'd always wake up crying.

Today was one of those days.

It didn't matter if he dreamt of good or bad things with his family - he'd always cry - but this time, it was a nightmare. A memory. Of when they were captured and submitted to the humans’ will and Lilith… Lilith never made it. On one hand, it might have been for the best, she never had to live the hell that came after.

On the other hand, Belphegor missed his youngest and only sister more than he could bear.

Truly a great start to the day, crying over a memory long, long ago. Slowly, he started to crawl out of bed. Or rather, the small rug he used as bed. It barely helped to lessen the cold of the basement floor, but it was all he had. He didn't sleep well there, so it was no surprise he nodded off in warmer places. However, there was no understanding from the humans, only punishment. He was called a lazy demon, a good for nothing, and those were the lighter insults. Sometimes he wondered why the humans that owned him wanted him at all; but as much as he hated it there, he knew there were worse places to be, and so he quickly dissipated such thoughts.

Technically, he was supposed to help around the house with small tasks. As he wasn't given a command yet, he started with cleaning the floors. Belphegor had a suspicion he was more needed as a scapegoat for this family's problems than a helper. He had also heard having a demon servant was a status thing. But, well, he had a roof over his head, so who was he to judge them for their motives?

_Except he resented them. All of them. All humans were abusive scums, pieces of shit, who had done nothing but hurt him, and his family-_

He shook his head. There was no use in thinking like that, he had learnt from his time in previous houses that being rebellious only led him to be imprisoned, starved, beaten, or worse. Overtime, he ended up managing to bury his rebellion deep down and adjusted his demeanour to be less badly treated. He still hated this, and humans, but the collar around his neck granted his owners total control over him. Normally, he wouldn't have had trouble ripping them all to shreds, demonic strength being far superior to that of a human’s, not to mention his magic. But humans were tricky bastards. They developed collars to be sure to dominate a demon when needed, and that made it basically impossible for him to harm a human. It worked similar to a pact, except pacts were usually something offered by a demon, and it had a mutual exchange. This was totally one-sided.

Footsteps. _Thump, thump, thump_. Belphegor held his breath, awaiting for the usual- to be yelled at on sight and reprimanded for trying to seem useful. But it didn't come. Instead all that came over him was a collar around his neck, tied to a leash. His blood ran cold. He was going to be taken out. Not killed, no, despite mistreatment, demons were notoriously hard to kill, which might have prompted such abuse in the first place. At best, he was being taken out of this house as he had been sold to another. At worst, he'd be taken to a local storage with a bunch of other mistreated, starved, and enslaved demons - to be sold and purchased again. 

This eventually happened to all his owners. After all, humans did not have his seemingly infinite lifespan, and so they died. It was a small pleasure Belphegor afforded himself before dealing with the hell that was the storage facilities, and thereafter a new home. Adapting to what each new human wanted and expected of him was always hard, and he usually got beaten a lot before getting used to his new routine. He didn't want that. He hesitated when the leash was pulled, fear clear and plastered on his pale face.

"Not NOW you stupid lazy demon, just fucking follow me!" 

He had no choice but to obey a direct command like that, and so he followed his owner, on all fours. He was shaking, especially after the kick on the side of his torso he was graced with for taking too long.

The next hours were a slow blur. He could barely focus on what was happening around him as his torturous thoughts ran wild, thinking of what could possibly be in store next for him.. He registered entering the trunk of a car, and the shaking of the car as it sped to its destination. He barely felt or appreciated the slight warmth of being in such a tight space. Belphegor was drawing shallow breaths - and if he knew about those he’d have understood he was entering a panic attack - by the time the trunk door opened and the sunlight blinded him.

Whatever was coming was nothing he couldn’t survive, but that might be what made what he would endure worse.

Voices could be heard, and if he tried, he could make out what they said. But the panic in Belphegor's mind had repressed all recognition, and so he still inside the trunk waited for the worst. It would hardly be better than he expected, anyway.

He felt a harsh tug on his leash and the voices got louder, but part of him could tell that, for once, the yelling wasn't directed at him. That was… odd. He must have disobeyed (although he wasn't sure, since he still couldn't focus on what was being said around him) as the tug evidenced. He tried to focus his vision and the sight surprised him, the humans were fighting each other. But the surprise and confusion quickly vanished, replaced with terror- they were going to lash out at him next. _They were going to blame him, and be angry at him, and beat him until he was spitting blood on the floor again-_

The sight of the unfamiliar human turning to him made him flinch enough he hit his head on the back of the trunk. This new human seemed... confused? He couldn't tell what expression the human had on their face, not because his vision was blurred again, he had just never seen it before. They said something, but he couldn't tell what it was. The human drew closer and Belphegor tried to make himself smaller. They extended their hand, and Belphegor closed his eyes waiting for the hit… that never came.

With his eyes closed, his hearing was forced to adjust, and he could faintly start to understand what the humans were saying.

"He's terrified…"

"He's always lazy like this. I bet his terror is just for show so he can lay down longer- they say he's a powerful and important demon, but I doubt it. He's just a good for nothing--"

"Oh shut up already!" That was new. Belphegor was growing confused again. "This is exactly why I'm taking him in."

Oh. So this new human was his new owner. He peeked beneath his bangs and saw them better- they were smaller than he was, but seemed to have a lot of attitude. This couldn't bode well for him. Then they turned and their eyes locked. Shit. He quickly looks away, he shouldn't have done that, right-

"Hello. Belphegor, right? I'm Yuki. You'll be staying with me starting today. Could you please follow me inside my house?"

He didn't want to. The smile on their face as they spoke to him was weird. Humans did not smile at him like that. Belphegor had the worst feeling about all of this, nothing to do with humans bode well for him after all. But he couldn't fight back, not with that damned collar secured tightly around his neck. So he slowly, and shakily, started to get out of the trunk of the car, and onto his knees, as he had been trained to always do, and followed the new human to their house. He did not look back as his old owner got inside the car, slammed the door, and drove off; but he hesitated and looked away from the front of the door. He did not like his old house… but he wasn't so stupid as to hope this one would be any better.

The human - Yuki, his mind supplied - took note of his reaction, he could tell, but only waited. Before he wasted their patience, he got inside.

#######

It was warm inside. So warm, Belphegor could feel his eyelids getting heavier by the second. There was soft music playing in the background, and after Yuki closed the door, they kneeled in front of him. This made him nervous- humans liked to tower above him, not to be at eye level. But Yuki knelt on the floor and looked up at him like it was no big deal.

"Hey. This is my home. I introduced myself earlier, and I know your name, but not much else... beyond what I saw before. I don't know if you remember me-" He didn't "- but I saw you a couple of times at my sister's house." They bit their lip in thought, and shook their head, as if thinking better on their words. "Well, for now, I'd like to have you settled in. Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

Their questions were so unexpected that Belphegor widened his eyes in shock. He hadn't eaten in days, and what water he had drank was snuck from the basement's sink- ice cold. He wanted to eat more than anything, but, he couldn't just come out and say he was hungry. Maybe the human would deprive him of food even longer if he showed he was hungry. Or whatever sick and twisted game the humans would pull on him next- all he knew was he did not trust humans, and this one would be no exception.

Yuki seemed to notice his hesitance and just nodded. "Alright, you don't have to answer me if you don't want to, okay?" They smiled. Strangely. Belphegor still couldn't pinpoint that smile at all. Then they got up, "I'll bring something anyway. You can eat if you want to, but if not, that's okay too." And they left. Belphegor sat on the floor, frozen despite the house’s heating functioning well, so well, in fact, that he'd have fallen asleep were he not so alarmed. But he needed to test these waters, to learn what was safe to tread, and so he stayed awake. To his disbelief, Yuki returned and brought him the promised food.

It was a full meal. He had not eaten a full meal in decades, not since he had stolen from a previous owner which had gotten him horribly beaten and thrown out. He was not like his twin brother, always hungry, but he did feel starved. Even still, he didn't dare touch the food before him. Yuki made another strange expression, furrowing their eyebrows.

"It's not poisoned, you know? You can eat it, I promise I won't be mad."

Lies. Humans did nothing but lie to him, how could he ever believe them? His stomach growled as he started to smell the delicious aroma of the food, but he did not move to eat anything. It seemed to make Yuki rethink things. They sighed, then spoke to him again.

"If you're hungry, you should take it… I could hear your stomach just now…"

Still nothing. Belphegor wasn't at the point of starving to death yet, so there was no reason to tempt fate like that. He did not want to be yanked by the horns and hit all around. But he couldn't have been prepared for what happened next. Yuki, seemingly reluntactly, spoke directly at him:

" _Please_ , eat it, Belphegor."

His collar forced him to obey their words and Belphegor watched with horror as his hands reached for the food. _No!!_ This was a trap, one he was forced inside, and it was _delicious_. He might have teared up a little from his stomach finally feeling relief after eating something in so long, but he was still afraid. He was surely going to be made to pay for eating human food, a full meal no less, one his shrunken stomach could barely eat at all as he was really only skin and bones. Once he finished, and he had regained control of his movements, he hurriedly retreated from the tray of food and Yuki enough so that he hit a wall, where he curled up and put his hands over his head. He was prepared for the beating, one that surely would come and make him puke it all out… but once again, it didn't happen.

He still did not dare to look up as he heard the human gather the tray and step away. His shaking returned with a vengeance. What… why… who the hell was this human, what did they want from him and why? Did they get some kind of sick pleasure in watching him suffer without even having to raise a hand at him?

As he tried to reason it out, Belphegor failed to notice the human had come back and hung a blanket on top of him. He froze, and tentatively looked up, fear evident.

"You seem cold. No wonder, with what little you're wearing… so I brought you this. It's yours. Please do not feel afraid to take it with you anywhere you'd like. I have arranged a room for you, if you'd like to come with me to see it?"

Silence.

"That's okay, too. I'll bring you another meal later, when it's lunchtime, and we can eat together. I'm sorry I made you eat forcefully, I won't do it again, but please promise to eat from now on…?"

Oh. That required him to reply. Though their demands were weird as hell, he couldn't refuse an answer. Not with this collar, not to a human. He bit his lip nervously, then nodded. Really, what choice did he have? Once Yuki left him to his own devices in the room - a nicely decorated living room, now that he took note of it - he finally allowed himself to untense somewhat. He was still worried- this territory was too new, too foreign for him to have felt any confidence in it- but without the human around, he could relax for now and try to reason what it was they wanted from him.

However, as soon as he relaxed a little, the warmth of the place, the nice texture and coziness of the carpet under him, and the warm fluffiness of the blanket around him made him start to nod off. He just felt so, so tired… maybe a small nap before he worked out what this human wanted from him was not a terrible idea at the moment…

And so he drifted off, unaware that Yuki had been watching, half-hidden, at a distance, a relieved smile on their lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's anything that warrants a tag in this or next chapters, please let me know and I'll add ASAP. It might have slipped by me as I was trying to put all the tags. If anyone has any questions I'm easy to be contacted through my [twitter](https://twitter.com/terminalcountd) or you can just comment in here!
> 
> It gets better for Belphie, I promise. I didn't put graphic violence warning because I don't plan on going into any nitty-gritty details, I really focus on the psychological side effects and healing. It's what I like best to write myself. This plans to be a fairly long fic so I hope I'm up to the challenge... I've never done a really long fic before. I hope it's an enjoyable read!


	2. Chapter 2

The following days were similar.

Yuki would come to the corner of the living room Belphegor had basically claimed and would bring breakfast for two. They'd eat and watch as Belphegor hesitated immensely before, little by little, he started to eat without being ordered to. Yuki always smiled then, which confused Belphegor. He slowly regained his strength, not that he could use it. Then, Yuki would leave for work, and Belphegor would remain in his corner, as Yuki hadn’t given him any order of what he should do. At first he figured, since it was new territory, he couldn't know what they expected of him… If he tried to help around the house like he had before they might not like it. But, if he was idle, they might also not…

The indecision left him still in the living room and he ended up taking a nap. He was woken by the sound of Yuki arriving home, and he woke up alarmed. But Yuki merely greeted him and went to the kitchen. Then they came back with heated lunch for them both, and Belphegor felt mortified as he noticed this human was, probably, abstaining from eating on a table just to eat with him.  _ Why? _ He couldn't figure it out.

In the afternoon, they'd do a couple of things around the house, but would constantly check up on him. They asked him odd things- like if he wanted to move from there; if he was comfortable, hungry or thirsty… all of which Belphegor shook his head to quietly. Then came dinner time, when they'd eat together again in the quiet corner of the living room, and Yuki would retire to bed, but not before asking if Belphegor wanted to move to his own room. He refused. He wasn't sure  _ why _ , as this human hadn't hurt him yet - yet!! - and he'd much rather sleep on a mattress, but he felt scared by the possibility it was a ruse. A trap of some kind.

This schedule repeated itself for a few days - the only notable change was that, on the third day, Belphegor attempted to explore the house. Mostly because he couldn't go any longer without a bathroom, but also to know this new territory. He looked for places he could possibly hide, clues of how this human lived and if there was anything else out of the ordinary in the house. Maybe he'd find a laboratory room full of specimens, or something horrifying like that. All he found were plain rooms, one of which seemed to be lived-in, others that stored objects, and one that was unoccupied. He wondered what it was, that maybe it belonged to someone else, considering there was a cow plushie on top of the bed. Then he retired to his corner of the living room again and the rest of the day repeated like the ones before.

Then the weekend came, and Yuki didn't have work. They'd have to spend a whole weekend together and that was a terrifying prospect. Maybe, just maybe, they'd leave with other human friends to somewhere else and he'd be at peace on his own? This thought was quickly shut down when Yuki approached him, a small bag in hand and an announcement.

"Hey, Belphegor. I don't think you'll like this idea very much…" he tensed, and Yuki quickly tried to step back "It's nothing bad! It's just, well, you haven't showered in a while, right?"

Oh.

_Oh_ _no_.

He must have visibly bristled without meaning to, because Yuki looked… troubled, maybe? "I'm sure you had your reasons for that, but well, you should shower. It'll be okay, I have everything ready in this bag here, and the water is warm. You can even bath a little afterwards, if you want."

Belphegor bit his lip. He didn't want to. He absolutely did not want to, however, he was no fool. It had been several weeks since he showered last, so he must stink and, really, it was a wonder that they had let him hog a corner in their living room while stinking like that. They had shared meals, and just dealt with that. He was bothering this human that, up until now, had given him a blanket and fed him. They weren't giving him an order, but they could, and it might be better to comply hesitantly now, than be forced later. So, he nodded, despite looking terrified by the prospect.

He did not believe that the water would be warm. He thought it'd be either icy cold or scalding hot, but… once he took off his old, thin clothes, and let the water from the shower hit him, he found it was warm, and at just the right temperature. He couldn’t resist closing his eyes and just letting the water wash over him. Yuki had left a small bag with him full of various bottles he didn't quite recognize. He picked out the soap, as he did know what that was, and cleaned himself. It smelled like roses and he couldn't believe how spoiled he was being treated right now. There had to be a catch. He was waiting, on edge, for that catch. But it was the fifth day where he had received nothing but gentleness from his new human; he was overwhelmed, not knowing how to process such nice treatment anymore, and so he sobbed under the shower.

Yuki heard the faint sobbing from their place by the door, and it broke their heart a little, but they only listened on. Maybe he needed that.

Once he was done, Belphegor wasn't sure what to do. He sat there with the shower off, lost until, thankfully, Yuki called. "Belphegor? Are you alright in there? You done?"

He nodded before he realized that they couldn't hear him, and then let out a very soft "Yes" that was barely audible. Yuki entered, and despite Belphegor having no shame and that he wouldn't have minded Yuki being there, he was a bit thankful he wasn't under their eye the entire time. He had needed that alone time. Yuki pointedly looked away from him, grabbed a very fluffy looking towel, and approached him with it. Once they got close, they paused, and looked at something… on his head?

"Did you wash your hair?"

He nodded, and when he held up the soap to show how, Yuki was surprised. "Oh… that's why your hair looks so fragile. Here, let me get the shampoo for you."

Yuki taught him what the bottles contained- a shampoo and a conditioner. And then offered to wash his hair properly. Belphegor didn't see the point in it, but shrugged, letting Yuki do as they pleased. They were in charge after all. And so Yuki washed his hair, going around the horns, with such  _ gentleness _ that it almost made him cry again, but he managed to hold himself together this time. They also washed the end of his tail, and even brushed it; he couldn’t remember the last time it had been treated at all. It tickled a little, but he stayed still the entire time.

This time, truly done, Yuki enveloped him in the towel and made sure to get the excess of water out of his hair and off his arms, then instructed that he do the same elsewhere on his body. It was almost as if Yuki wanted to give him privacy, though he didn't really understand why, given that he hadn't had any in so long.

Once dry, Yuki gave him new clothes. A white long-sleeved shirt, black sweatpants, and even underwear. Dressed, he could tell the difference from his old clothes, these were warmer, softer. From his spot he merely eyed the door Yuki retreated through - once again, trying to give him privacy to get dressed. That human was  _ so _ weird.

When he left the bathroom Yuki beamed at him, which made him a mix of confused and wary. What was that face for, and why?? But Yuki just kept smiling, "You look great! And you're standing!"

Upon this realization he immediately fell to his knees - he didn't want to end this moment being reprimanded for standing up!! He messed up, he hadn’t meant to!! - and Yuki immediately tugged on his arm "Wait- no! It was a compliment! You can stand! Really! Please?" They looked at him… with an expression that Belphegor took a bit to pinpoint. But he slowly realized, it was the very same face he saw reflected from himself when he had messed up with his owners. That took him off guard enough that he nodded and stood up again. Yuki sighed in relief and smiled at him again.

"Thank you." Before Belphegor could enter an internal monologue again at his shock of being thanked by a human, Yuki continued, "Do you want to go to your room now?"

Right. This again. He figured, if something terrible were to happen, might as well get it over with already. He was feeling better, being rested and fed these days, to handle something more… but Yuki only took him - still lightly tugging on his arm, he realized - to one of the vacant rooms. The one with a cow plushie on top of a bed.

"It's small, but it's all I have for now. I didn't know the things you liked to decorate the room, so I just picked something soft I had from my child days. I hope you like it, really. I'll bring your blanket! I'll just need to put it to wash and dry, but I'll be back shortly!" And then they finally left his arm, leaving him dumbstruck in front of the room.

Hesitantly, he entered the room. It was really simple- a bed, a nightstand, a dresser, a desk, and a chair. Across from the door was a window, where he could see a nice garden outside. There weren't any decorations, but the wall was a soft blue, which matched well to the wooden furniture. He sat down on the bed, and it was so soft he immediately sank his whole body into it. Once laying down, he stared at the plushie. He reached to it, and the fabric was so soft, he gently held onto and hugged it against his chest. Sleep came so suddenly and naturally to him, that he didn't have time to second guess the room, the human's intentions, or what was happening around him anymore.

Later, Yuki returned to find their demon sleeping, hugging their old plushie, and they couldn't help but smile. With the now washed blanket, they tucked him in, and patted his head twice before retiring and leaving the sloth demon slumber.

#######

This kept up for another week. That wasn't to say Yuki had no life outside of trying to get Belphegor to be less nervous around them, but for the initial two weeks, they emptied their schedule. Now, Yuki would leave in the afternoons sometimes, always saying they were going to something or another, and Belphegor was left alone. It was strange. He felt both more comfortable and not. It was reassuring to not have them around so he didn't feel nervous, but on the other hand, he started to feel… lonely. Not that he wanted Yuki's company, but for the first time in a long time, he was left alone without hunger and cold gnawing at him, without all his attention focused on surviving another day. He was fed, clean, well-rested, and warm. Belphegor even felt comfortable. So he let his mind wander.

Meanwhile, Yuki had caught him sniffling a few times, but hadn’t asked about it. It wasn't their place, and they doubted Belphegor would like to share with them. But they'd like to know if they could help, so they started to drop hints here and there. "Do you want to do something?" "What do you like to do?" "Do you like your food/clothes/bed?" Belphegor always looked at them like they were an alien and, well, it was hard to blame him. Not all humans thought demons deserved the harsh treatment they received, but the ones that owned demons were the ones that did. So this must have been all he had ever known. When he did grace them with an answer, Belphegor had typically shrugged, denied anything was off, and refused to share anything about himself. He was cautious when he answered, of course, but he still had really big defenses up. 

Something they had noticed was how he'd always hold the plushie in bed when he thought he was alone. Yuki decided to clarify that he could do it whenever.

"It's yours. Like the blanket. Do not feel afraid to keep it with you."

Once again he'd looked at them with wide eyes, before hesitantly nodding. It was an improvement from his lack of response whatsoever in the first days, but Yuki longed to hear him say more than just “Yes” or “No”. They wanted to help him not cry as much. They wanted to know him better. So they tried a new approach.

"Hey, Belphegor?" Once he learnt he was allowed in any of the rooms of the house, Belphegor would often be found napping in strange places. This time though, he was only looking out of the window, and turned when his name was called. Yuki had his attention. "Is that really your name?"

A confused tilt of his head, before he nodded. Okay, so it wasn't something humans had named him, that was good. "It's kind of a long name, but that's okay. Say, how old are you?"

A pause, before he looked down, shoulders slumping, "... I don't know." He said softly, voice slightly raspy from lack of use. Yuki furrowed their eyebrows at the response. They supposed that wasn't something he was allowed to or could have kept track of. They approached him and sat in front of him on the couch he was sitting on.

"Do you know what year you were born?"

Hesitance. Reluctance before he said, very warily, "I was created, in the year 650 of our calendar." Oh. They had messed up. Right. Yuki knew not all demons were  _ born _ , but they shamefully knew very little about them, so they didn't know the difference. They nodded, which seemed to ease Belphegor's nerves.

"I can research when that'd be in my calendar, and I'll let you know! Then we'll find out together." It was hard to read his expression a lot of the time, like now, but he had looked away with some colour on his cheeks. Bashful, maybe? They wouldn't point it out though. Fearing he would return to being completely silent, and as they were enjoying talking to him, Yuki pressed a little further.

"Do you know how to read?"

That took him a bit to answer, but Yuki could tell it wasn't from hesitation. He was considering the question. He finally replied with, "I think so. Demonic, at least."

Ah, so maybe he didn't know how to read Yuki's language. That spoiled their idea of giving him books to entertain himself with. Yuki wasn't sure how to teach anyone how to read, so they'd have to look it up, as they doubted they could find anything in demonic.

Running out of ideas, they caught sight of his tail. In his first days, it was frail and thin, but now it looked a bit more vibrant, and Yuki thought maybe it would grow more hair soon. Initially curled up around him or very still, now it usually swayed a little whenever he was idle and not nervous. Like now. Yuki felt themself smile thinking of it until they saw it had stopped, and noticed Belphegor was looking at them nervously, still guarded as ever.

"Sorry, I was just thinking it was pretty fluffy. Can I touch it?"

The question bewildered Belphegor. It… looked fluffy? He supposed that it wasn't matted and dirty like it had previously been, so they couldn't call it dirty and whatnot, but… fluffy was new to him. As was the request to touch it. They had already touched it once but it was wet then, it wasn't the same thing. He looked away, emotions very much mixed inside of him- the obvious fear, then embarrassment, to compliance, and a distant annoyance that would always persist with humans. The more comfortable he grew around this human, the less he felt he needed to suppress his rebellious thoughts against all humans and what they represented. It was a dangerous thing still, but he couldn't help it. So wordlessly, his tail moved in their direction, as he looked out of the window attempting to feign disinterest.

Yuki grinned and petted the long fur at the tip, brushing it with their fingers. Belphegor felt himself blush hideously. It was so… gentle, and intimate, and  _ soft _ , he held a breath without noticing. Yuki kept at it, either unaware of how this had affected him or had elected to ignore it, but the conflicting emotions inside of him started to overwhelm him to the point he was crying.

So it often ended like this, Yuki was too gentle, and Belphegor cried, because it was all that he could do. At least Yuki hadn't forbidden him from crying.

Once they noticed, they stopped. But Belphegor couldn't stop crying, despite trying. He was sure he looked pathetic, a weak excuse for a demon, but what truly caught him off guard was their question, whispered at him.

"Do you want a hug?"

It wasn't an order nor a request he let them, because he couldn't tell humans no to those, it was asking  _ him _ what  _ he _ wanted. Well, did he? "I don't know," he sobbed honestly, he felt so miserable. So lonely. It had been so, so long since he had seen his family, had company that did not hurt him, and the prospect of contact that would not harm him. Distrust and hatred of humans were being outweighed by how much he  **needed** a hug, regardless of if he was sure if he wanted it or not.

A gentle touch at his shoulder startled him out of his spiral of despair and he looked at the human who approached and offered him comfort. Why? Why were they doing this? What was the point? What did they have to gain from all of it? They hadn’t even asked him to do anything around the house. He was as dead weight as he could be, and all he had gotten in return was kindness.

Kindness.

He choked out another sob and his body betrayed his distaste for humans, and he leaned into their touch. He needed this. He really needed this, urgently. Yuki seemed to have understood and moved over further to hold him in their arms. It was a strange sight- he was taller, so he had to lean down into the hug. But he didn't care at the moment. All he cared for was the warmth of another body against his and the small hands that brushed his hair while his head rested heavily on their shoulder as he sobbed.

#######

Next on Yuki's list was to go to a library as they really needed to educate themself about demons. And so, after lunch one day - in which progress was made and Belphegor ate at the table with them - they went to a library. They had done some research beforehand to see which libraries would have more books on what they were looking for, and had found one that they were fairly positive could help them. It was an old but big building, which likely had a lot of story behind it. Yuki went to the reception desk, where an old fellow greeted them.

"How may I help you?"

"I'd like to borrow some books, to take home. I believe I'd have to register myself...?"

"Oh yes, why don't you look for the books you want while I get the paperwork ready?"

Yuki hesitated. The place was really big. The receptionist laughed, "Well, what kind of books are you looking for?"

"Any research books on demons, really."

"Research?" He raised an eyebrow at them.

"Yeah, I don't know much about them, and I have one now, so I thought I should learn a thing or two."

"Ohh, yes, it is better to be well informed than not, especially with things we deal with daily. Well, while I get the paperwork ready, Tan will take you there. He knows this place inside and out and is well-informed to help you." He rang a bell. How... retro. Or maybe just out of its time and age really. Eventually, someone arrived, and to Yuki's surprise, it was a demon. The large horns protruding through the blond hair and the long tail were unmistakable. Perhaps noticing their surprise, the receptionist laughed, "Oh, don't worry, he can't harm anyone. You'll be safe."

He wore a collar, much like Belphegor. But while Belphegor's collar was like a thin piece of fabric on his neck, this was a solid metal. It must be much more powerful, as heavy as it looked, and he even had matching cuffs to go with it... Yuki wondered why they'd need to go that far, but quickly nodded to the receptionist. "I believe you, I was just surprised by it, that’s all." Then, they turned to the demon. "Could you direct me to the books about demons?"

He didn't answer, merely nodded, and began walking. At least he was able to walk instead of crawl. Many people forced demons to walk on all fours so they couldn’t tower over anyone, as they were usually taller than most humans. But his demeanor was similar to Belphegor, not talking, following orders, and his eyes... they looked so hollow. Yuki couldn't look into his green eyes for long.

He escorted them to a section of demon books and Yuki began to pick some by the title. They realized Tan was still there, and thought of something that would be unusual, but should be fine since this section was deserted. "Hey, Tan, do you know those books?" A nod. "Can you recommend the best ones to learn about demons? Not how to train them or whatever, but about them."

There was a pause, Yuki could tell he was surprised, but he nodded and began picking some books and returning others Yuki had picked to the shelves. "These provide more neutral information on their background. History, origin, magic, and a few more things." He stated with a collected voice. Despite being similarly cautious, there was something about him that was more assertive than Belphegor. Yuki wondered if that was due to different life experiences, or different personalities. Or maybe he had to act like that, as it wouldn’t do much good if he were to not provide information as efficiently as possible.

Yuki figured that since they were with a demon anyway and that Tan wouldn't gain anything from spreading rumours about them, they could proceed further, "Does this library have anything in demonic?"

Now the shock was visible on his face, and Yuki felt nervous of his reply but Tan didn't do anything. He merely thought some before replying, "Not in the library, no." Yuki deflated. Man, they figured they wouldn't have luck with finding such a thing, but having it confirmed was still a blow. Then, Tan spoke up again, "Excuse me, master, what kind of book in demonic were you looking for?"

Huh? But didn't he just say the library didn't have any...? Yuki answered anyway, "Um, stories, mostly. It's nothing too important, but I thought I'd try..."

"Come back in 3 weeks. I'll have one for you. As long as you do not mention it to anyone else."

Yuki stared wide-eyed, then beamed. They could hug this demon right now, but they didn't want to impose on him further. "Of course. How can I repay you-?"

"You can just owe me a favour."

Owing a demon a favour seemed like a textbook example of what not to do, but maybe that was exactly why Yuki nodded with a smile.

"It's a deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I left it pretty obvious who Tan was, it's a shame he won't show up again until much later.  
> I always think so much while I write, but by the time I finish writing, get it beta'd and ready to post, I forgot everything I wanted to say ahahah. I'm very glad there has been people who enjoyed the first chapter! I'm happy to say I've been advancing through chapters steadily, though they'll still take a bit to get out since my beta is a busy working mom.  
> I can't wait until I get to write further chapters, there's many scenes I have in mind that I'm excited about!


	3. Chapter 3

A few months after Belphegor had moved in with Yuki, and some weeks after he had cried himself to sleep in their arms, there had been some progress. He greeted them back, even if half-heartedly, he sometimes asked things - usually what dinner was composed of, as he wasn't used to human food - and so on. It wasn't like he had stopped being scared and jumpy - he was still very cautious about everything. It was more that he was testing the waters, really. But Yuki beamed everytime.

At some point, Belphegor decided to ask if he was supposed to be helping Yuki in some way. The question had been gnawing at him since the first day, but he couldn't bring himself to ask, thanks to his fear, conditioning, and partially because he didn't feel inclined to help a human. He hated humans after all. But… He supposed Yuki wasn't as evil. So far. Hopefully. After he had gotten more used to the house, and wasn't in such a fragile emotional state, he felt both indebted (just a little) and bored; afterall, there were only so many naps he could take when Yuki wasn’t around 

So one day, while Yuki was taking care of some laundry, he peeked in and asked in his usual soft voice "Should I be helping you at all…?"

Yuki was surprised - glad he had spoken, but what he had said was unexpected - but soon smiled. "You don't have to. I'm not going to make you do my stuff for me, I can do it fine- I only took you from my sister because I disagreed with her methods in general." They decided to clarify that, too, and kept folding their laundry.

"Oh…" was all he said and looked away. So, unless he wanted it, he wouldn't have anything to do. He didn't really want to work or be bored, but he also couldn’t say to Yuki: 'Hey, human who helped me, I'm bored and I demand attention'. That sounded awful and worse,  _ clingy _ .

"Is something wrong?" Belphegor looked alarmed. What, had he said that out loud? He was careful these days to not let his snark escape, but- "If you want something you can just ask, okay?"

He looked at them like they were insane. What kind of human would just open themselves to requests like that?? And the worst part was, he was getting comfortable enough, that his blunt behaviour showed and he responded "I want my family. To get this collar off. Simple things, really."

It took a few moments to register what he had said, but just before he got scared again of what Yuki's reaction would be, they stopped folding their clothes and tilted their head "You have a family?"

… Is that all they were going to take from what he had said?

Belphegor couldn't suppress a short, muffled, and wheezy laugh. He, not-so-subtly, tried to hide his face behind one hand, as he didn't want to be seen emoting like that, even if it was merely a laugh of surprise and shock. And also because he was embarrassed and quickly blushing. He coughed to disguise it, then glanced at Yuki, who was only watching with a smile and an expectant face. They really wanted an answer for that question, huh? He sighed. "Yes."

They kept looking at him with eyes like those Belphegor usually saw in dogs. What were they, human or not? "Well, you don't have to tell me more if you don't want to, but I'd love to hear more."

Weird human. He debated- did he want to share? Not really, but… He was starting to get tired of being so guarded around someone who hadn’t done anything to him. Even if that someone was a human, the source of his suffering. He hadn’t been dumb enough to  _ hope _ , not without some concrete proof, that Yuki wouldn't turn and force him to do something. They had once, maybe next time it would be for their benefit. So he wasn't hoping, not really, he was just tired of never having anyone to be able to confide in, and so he took his chances and bit the bullet.

"...It's been a long time since anyone believed me about it, though."

"Believed?" Yuki seemed confused. The demon sighed once more and nodded his head.

"Yes. Between high ranking demons, there's some… special cases. Some family groups." Yuki had read a little on it, but because it was hard to get demons to talk about their experiences, all books had a very human perspective. "My family were the avatars of sin."

Yuki vaguely remembered it in passing, however they had never found details on it. "Avatars of sin?"

"We draw our demonic power from humans' sins. Whenever a human gives in to selfishness and commits a sin, we receive strength." He shrugged. "So we're pretty powerful. No one believes I'm Belphegor, Avatar of Sloth, though. They just keep calling me that because I don't answer to anything else."

Avatar of Sloth… that explained his supposedly lazy nature and the amount of sleeping he did. "Well, I believe you."

Belphegor gave them a confused and guarded look. He mumbled something suspiciously like 'weird human' but Yuki didn't address it. "I have six older brothers. I had a little sister. She's dead now, but I don't know what happened to the others. I was kept with Beel for a while, but…" his expression twisted, like he was in pain, and he looked away, trying to hide behind his hair, "We were separated."

Yuki considered their words carefully, as they knew nothing that they said could really help his pain. "I'm sorry," they offered, then added, "but thank you for sharing it with me." Laundry all but forgotten at this point, they attempted a smile. "I haven't taken your collar off yet because I'm not sure how, since it's magical. I can try though."

Belphegor didn't believe it. Not a word. A very small part of him begged to be allowed to hope and hold onto a promise for better days, however, he refused to be made a fool. So he merely shrugged at Yuki, who understood it and frowned.

"No, really, look I can try right now." They approached Belphegor. He was a good height taller than they were, but it did not intimidate them. If anything it intimidated him. He held his breath when Yuki's hands touched his neck and tried to figure out a way to remove the collar: they tugged at it- nothing; examined to see if there was something they could release, nothing. Belphegor started to get nervous at their continued proximity when Yuki stepped back. "Hold on, let me try something."

They left and came back with a knife and Belphegor immediately stepped back. "It's for the collar, I can't tear it with my bare hands." He kept still but looked very hesitant, so Yuki approached calmly. They did their best to position the knife between the collar and his neck, so as to not cut him on accident, but once they tried to cut the fabric, something they could only describe as electrical sparks blasted from it and Belphegor whimpered. Yuki quickly removed the knife and threw it on the floor, their eyes not leaving his face for a moment. "Belphegor?? I'm sorry, did that hurt?? Shit, I should have researched this more--"

It had hurt, like being hit by an electrical current, but nothing one wouldn't survive. It scared him more than anything really, and it made him relive all sorts of things.

_ Harsh kicks. His hair, tail and horns being pulled. Vases breaking upon violent impact against his skin. The one time he escaped and was tased over and over and- _

But the human wouldn't let him relive it. They kept talking to him, holding his shoulders, and, when he swayed, they hugged him in place, grounding him. His head was too fuzzy to process this- there weren't thoughts of 'this was on purpose' or 'they didn't mean for it to happen', just the bubbling panic trying to rise and Yuki trying to get him to react. Weakly, he put his arms around the small human, and clung to them for a sense of comfort, so that maybe this panic attack wouldn't be so long and harsh.

He didn't say anything for a long time, and it ate at Yuki. They managed, with effort, to get Belphegor to the living room and sat with him on the sofa. Then they hugged him until his breathing was not erratic anymore. "I'm sorry," they said again, and this time Belphegor heard it. "I should have been more careful. I didn't know they'd place mechanisms that would prevent me from removing it as well…" They were truly remorseful. "...I'll study more. I'll look into your family. I'll see if I can find them and help them as well. And I'll figure out a way to remove this collar, I promise you."

"What will you gain from it?"

The quiet, hoarse voice of the demon breathed, like it struggled to leave his lips. Yuki blinked, looking in his eyes. Eyes that looked so tired, so pained, so  _ hopeless. _ "Peace of mind," they merely stated, to which he gave an unsatisfied expression, before adding, "I don't agree with this. I don't believe you're inferior to me or deserve to be treated badly. So, now that I have a good job, am able to use my inheritance money, and have a house, I decided to take you in. I just couldn't stand and watch without doing anything. I thought maybe… if I could at least help one, there'd be less suffering. I couldn't ignore it."

This was so farfetched to him, that he couldn't grasp the concept very well. He was a demon after all. But… he wasn't a monster. Nor was his family. It made him think of Beel, always thinking of others first.

Ah, so that's what it was.

This human's weirdness was that they made expressions and said things out of genuine  _ concern _ .

...He still didn't really trust them or hope anything would get better, but… if he was right, maybe not all humans were monsters either.

"I don't trust humans." He merely said. "But," he hesitated, and Yuki could see a little turmoil dancing in his eyes, "I'll believe your words once they're backed with actions."

Yuki seemed relieved, and even let out a sigh before smiling, "Okay. I'll do my best."

#######

It was just the next day when Yuki arrived home, a big smile on their face. "Belphegor!" They greeted him enthusiastically, and were met with a deadpan stare. He obviously didn't share their enthusiasm for… whatever it was. Yuki did not let that stop them, however. He just wasn’t excited  _ yet. _ "I have something for you!"

Belphegor was confused. What, an apology gift for yesterday or something? What could they have that would possibly interest him…? Probably nothing, but whatever, he'd humour them anyway. "What is it?"

A book was held out to him. Or, well, it wasn't as much a book as it was a scrapbook. The pages didn't seem to match, being different stationary and sizes, and it was a little crumpled. Belphegor raised an eyebrow at Yuki, who just nodded and extended the 'book' further towards him. 'Go on, go on!' their eyes practically spelt.

The demon picked up the scrapbook, turned the first page, and was surprised beyond belief. It was demonic. It had been so many centuries, he couldn't even  _ believe  _ it. He looked wide-eyed at Yuki, a million questions on the tip of his tongue:  _ How did you get that, why did you get that, what was your motivation _ ? But what he actually said was much different than any of those questions. "Thank you". He looked down at the scrapbook immediately. As he thought, he could still recognize the letters, but his knowledge of it was rusty. He'd take some time with it…

"You're welcome," came the soft reply. They smiled when he looked up again. "I figured you must be bored being here all day, and there's not much entertainment besides the TV, which… isn't great." There was a reason why Belphegor avoided it. It wasn't often, but sometimes he'd see demons on TV, dressed up for performances and the like, and it'd make his stomach twist, at best.

"Mmm," was all Belphegor added. So they had noticed he was bored. And had gone out of their way to get this and… he wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel.

Only that, for some reason, he felt a little warm inside. Maybe the reason was being gifted something, something thoughtful like that, being shown care and attention but… who cared for details anyway.

"I'll leave you to it, okay?"

A nod. It was different from those when he first arrived, though, it was not a nervous one, but instead showed he was absent-minded. So Yuki smiled and went to get their dinner ready. They'd have to thank Tan later for sure.

Belphegor found that it was harder than he expected to read the scrapbook. What he did put together sometimes made sense, sometimes not, but from what he could tell, it told a story. He'd have to make notes on the words and phrases he did not recognize and revise them later. For now, he left it on the desk in the guest room for safekeeping. It felt too weird to call it his room, so he didn't.

On his walk back to where Yuki was, Belphegor peeked in the kitchen. Yuki was there trying to cook something, and also making a list of things. Were they running out of food? He remembered the last time Yuki had gotten groceries- they arrived carrying a lot of heavy-looking things. He wondered if it wasn't tiring for them.

"Going out shopping?"

Yuki looked back surprised. "Oh, not yet, maybe tomorrow. I can still make dinner, but tomorrow's will need some groceries I think."

Belphegor didn't have to. They were fine on their own, and he didn't owe them anything, but… the next thing he knew, he had blurted out, "Do you need help with it?"

Yuki often did. Carrying groceries was heavy and tiring to do on their own, but they didn't want to impose on the demon… Then they had an idea. "What if I bring you with me to the supermarket? That way you can get a bit of fresh air, and I can get my shopping done faster."

Ah. Leaving the house. He hadn’t considered himself a shut in by any means, but it was a scary prospect. There were tons of humans out there ready to pick on him. But being inside for so long like he had likely was not good, either. Sensing the demon's worries, they assured him, "Don't worry, I won't let anyone touch you. You'll be there to help me so no one can say anything, and usually I see demons standing when they're out and about, so it'll be fine!"

Obviously, the human was way too optimistic about this. But what they said did hold some truth to it. Humans didn’t go around hitting a demon under someone else's 'protection' (if you could call that protection) so he was probably safe. As much as he could be outside, anyway. It'd be good to see how much the world had changed again, so he found himself nodding.

It was ironic for himself to pray at a time like this, but he might have been internally praying for the best for once.

#######

The next day came, and Belphegor meant to be waiting for Yuki. He really did, but, at some point, he dozed off. Typical, but it should have been fine. It would have been fine. Except he was awoken by the words:

"You have a  _ demon _ now??"

The unfamiliar voice startled him awake and he looked like a deer in the headlights towards the door. There he saw an apologetic Yuki, and a male human he had never seen before. Panic rose him completely out of his sleep and he scrambled off the sofa and ran towards the guest room, almost slamming the door closed once inside.

Yuki sighed. They had known this would happen, and that's why they had tried to not bring anyone over, but this co-worker had  _ insisted _ on discussing their project after work and they couldn't say no after a point without seeming suspicious. And Yuki didn't really want people thinking they were hiding skeletons in their closet. Even if they were being weird by other's standards.

"I do. He doesn't like new people, so let's keep this discussion brief, alright?"

"Oh, uh, sure."

They were sure he wondered why a demon was on their sofa and why he had ran away on his feet, but thankfully he kept his trap shut after he saw Yuki's mood turn sour. After a small discussion that could have easily been avoided with an email, Yuki said farewell to their co-worker and closed the door. Now that  _ that _ was out of the way…

They approached the door of Belphegor's room quietly, worried he might have been upset at them. "Belphegor?" They tried, but no response. "He's gone now, I'm really sorry, he insisted and insisted on discussing something with me after work… Urgh, I think he was trying to flirt with me, really, but I'm not interested and tried to let him know but…" they stopped, took a deep breath and once again apologised. "I'm sorry I didn't warn you. Please forgive me?"

That was unexpected. Really, the human didn't owe him an explanation or an apology- it was their house and their life, they could do whatever they wanted. However, he had to admit he felt rather betrayed that they let another human in without a heads up- he had all of the reasons in the world to be wary of them. Scared, even. So he supposed his reaction had prompted such behaviour of them. He bit his lip and got up from his seat against the door, but still paused before he opened the door. "He really isn't there?"

"I practically kicked him out as soon as possible. Promise."

Promises didn't mean anything to him, but he opened the door anyway. Yuki was alone and looking around, Belphegor did not see anyone else. For some reason, the small human smiled seeing him. He glanced away, "It's fine. It just surprised me."

They both knew he was lying to save face, but Belphegor was grateful when Yuki only pretended to believe such an obvious lie and did not press further. "I'll just get my things ready and we can go grocery shopping, okay?"

With a nod, Belphegor thought about also getting ready, but… he didn't really know how. "Yuki," he called out before they were gone, and they turned around beaming "...what?"

"You've never called me by my name before!" They seemed so… genuinely happy. Belphegor did not know how to feel. He certainly felt something though, and at least it wasn't unpleasant.

"...anyway, how should I… dress?" He didn't know what to do in that aspect. He had always worn the same ratty clothes until they got way too torn and they changed to other worn-out clothes. But, he also wasn't the type of demon that had helped in public, so he wasn't sure what was appropriate to wear outside. Not that he  _ cared _ what humans thought of him, but he still had some self-preservation instincts.

Yuki smiled more softly, understanding his concern. "Your clothes right now are fine. Oh, but do grab one of the coats I gave you, it's a bit chilly outside."

In their way to treat him as normally as possible, they had gifted him more clothes than just those from after he first took a shower in their house. So he had more than a set of clothes, even if he sometimes wore the same ones for multiple days. Yuki didn't think he was being lazy when he did so, but that it was probably a habit, or him not wanting to be a burden of any kind.

Belphegor looked down at his clothes as Yuki went to their room. White shirt, blue jeans, and slippers. He did not think the slippers would do much good outside, so he changed into the pair of boots Yuki had given him. He never thought he'd actually use them, but here he was. He also grabbed the dark blue coat and pulled the hood over his head. It did not hide his horns, but maybe it was less obvious that way.

The ride to the supermarket was calm. Yuki turned on the radio and sang along to some human music, as Belphegor looked around. The city really had changed. There were more buildings around, different styles of constructions, even the cars looked different… At a red light, Belphegor looked at the car next to theirs and when the driver noticed a demon sitting right next to the driver's seat, they looked shocked and wary. Shit. Belphegor hadn't questioned when Yuki told him to sit next to them, but it must be a strange sight. He tried to make himself smaller as he looked forwards, to no avail.

"What's wrong?"

"...Nothing." he lied, and tried to calm his breathing. There was no reason to panic. Everything was fine. People just looked at him like that but there were two walls between him and the other human, it was alright, they couldn't hurt him--

He felt a small hand squeeze his own before it pulled back to keep on driving. Yuki smiled at him before they refocused on the traffic, while Belphegor stared at them, mouth agape. It had helped distract him from his rising panic, albeit at the cost of some embarrassment. What was he, a child that needed to be taken care of at every little issue that came up?

Once at the supermarket, and after fiddling with the seatbelt, Belphegor moved to open the door, but hesitated. This was it; his last chance to step back and not expose himself to a bunch of humans. Maybe Yuki would let him stay? They weren't the type to force him to come, he thought-

Yuki opened the door as he contemplated, and smiled kindly. "It's okay. You just have to stay by my side, alright?"

...It  _ would _ be safer by their side than inside a human vehicle alone. At this realization, he stepped out.

The store wasn't as full as he envisioned, but there were still too many humans for his liking. He kept a bit too close to Yuki, brushing their shoulders at times, especially when others looked at him funny or the security guard scrutinized him. But, as Yuki had said, no one moved to do anything to him, as they looked at everyone with a smile. Belphegor knew  _ those _ types of smiles much better. They were warnings. Warnings to not cross Yuki or they'd regret ever having touched him.

Yuki picked a shopping cart and instructed him on how to push one. "It's easy once you get the hang of it. Can you push it for me as I grab the products needed?" A nod, to which they smiled and whispered back, "Thanks."

Yuki would have said it went smoothly. Belphegor would have said it was nerve-wracking. But no one bothered them. They stared, frowned, and, in some cases, went out of their way to avoid them, but no one touched him. Once they had everything, they went to a cashier so Yuki could pay when Belphegor grabbed one of the items to hand to Yuki, the cashier loudly exclaimed, "Excuse me, is your thing supposed to touch your products?"

_ Thing. _

Belphegor was placed even below the literal object he was holding in his hand. He felt anger, terror, hatred, and panic all at once. He only snapped out of it once Yuki took the milk from his hands. "He's helping me with my groceries, so yes." And then softly, to him in a whisper, "It's okay, just keep handing those to me."

Obeying them, he kept doing so, but Yuki saw his shoulders were way too tense and his hands shook like leaves. Yuki paid for everything, hurriedly got all the groceries in the cart again and, grabbing Belphegor by an arm, left as quickly as possible. Once they had put everything in Yuki's minivan, and Yuki had put the cart back, both sighed in their seats inside of the minivan. Well, Yuki sighed. Belphegor wheezed.

"What a rude jerk," spat Yuki as they put their seatbelt on, then helped Belphegor with his. "It's MY stuff and they have no business saying who can or can't touch it!"

Somehow, it felt like Yuki was angrier than he was, but that wasn't exactly right. It's just that Yuki was  _ only _ angry, while Belphegor was angry and afraid. It was too much adrenaline at once. He could have passed out there and then, but Yuki squeezed his shoulder "You should rest when we get home, but for now enjoy the remaining sunlight, okay?"

Belphegor made a "mhmm" noise which seemed to satisfy Yuki and they started driving. He knew what the human had meant, it was their way to say make the best of the time while you're still out. Why they cared so much was beyond him, but he might as well see the sunset while he could, really. He couldn't remember the last time he watched the sun set like this.

His tiredness setting in, he started to relax in his seat as he gazed at the fields being coloured orange by the sun. Why there were some farm fields so close to the city, he had no idea, much less why they had to take the long way back home. Maybe Yuki was just letting him enjoy more time outside while safe inside their car? It didn't matter much. He also noticed a couple of demons working in the fields and he was about to look away from the sight when he caught a glimpse of orange hair.

No way. Was it the sunset?

Fully alert now, he straightened up in his seat and all but shoved his face against the window to see better. The translucent wings, the shape of the horns…

_ Beel. _

Without thinking, he tried to open the door by scratching at it. "Belphegor, wh-?" He remembered how to actually work the car door and opened it, but got stopped by the stupid seatbelt. He thought he might have heard the human yelling after him, and maybe the car stopped moving, but he paid no attention as he managed to get the stupid thing off of him and jumped outside. He ran until a fence stopped him. He tried to climb it, but it seemed to have been enchanted to burst the same spark as his collar upon touching it. He removed his hand hastily, but he didn't give up, as he screamed.

" **_BEEL!!!_ ** "

The other demon didn't seem to hear him, and Belphegor was ready to scream again, before a gentle hand rested on his shoulder. His head whipped back to see Yuki's face, expressing something like concern. In his panic (or perhaps it was shock, happiness, despair, or elation, he couldn't tell which), he hadn’t realized what he had done. He had left Yuki's side, actively ran away from them, and tried to enter someone else's property. There was a commotion, some humans started to approach his position, and he started to shake again.  _ Shit shit shit shit!! _

"Excuse me, is that demon yours?"

"He's with me, yes," said Yuki. Belphegor's eyes fixated on the ground as he trembled all over. 

"Is something the matter with him? He isn't trying to run or anything is he-"

"Oh, no, nothing of the sort. See, last month my cat 'Beel' ran away from home. I told him to keep an eye out for the cat, and I think he might have spotted the little guy. Isn't that right, Belphegor?"

How could the human have made up such a lie so quickly? Nonetheless, he nodded as he felt the other human’s eyes roam over him. He doubted it was a  _ believable _ lie, but what could they do? Belphegor hadn’t gotten far enough to do anything  _ wrong _ . So he was okay. He thought. He hoped. He was trying so hard to not panic, and the only reason he wasn't having a full-blown panic attack were the thoughts of his twin.  _ Beel. _ He glanced back to the fields, but he was gone.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there staring at the field before a gentle nudge came from his human. "Belphegor, we should go home now. It's getting dark." He knew that. That was why he wasn't seeing his twin anymore. It was dark enough he couldn't see the field clearly. After some hesitation, he looked away from the field and fought the tears that threatened to spill. He was gently led back to the hastily parked car, his seatbelt put on again, and the human returned to sitting by his side. The car was turned back on, but it was a silent ride back 'home'. Back to Yuki's house, that is- that never was or would be  _ home _ .

Yuki parked the car but Belphegor didn't move to leave. He didn't fight when the human took his seatbelt off and guided him away from the car, either. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. He had seen his twin after who knew how many years, and yet he still could not reach him. It was like he had been hit in the face with the sheer force of reality. He could make all these dumb wishes to a strange human in this fucked up world but it wouldn't change reality - he was an enslaved demon torn away from his family. And it was not something a human that could miraculously change.

"Belphegor?" No response. Yuki gently tugged at his arm and he complied, moving as though on autopilot. He was led inside, guided to sit, and then Yuki left. Unaware where he even was, as his vision was out of focus, he sat there, shell-shocked, for countless minutes or perhaps even hours until Yuki returned, sitting by his side. Their hand touched him ever so gently on his back, and something inside him broke.

Belphegor cried. It wasn’t like his quiet sobbing from before, it was a scream. A cry containing all the feelings he had been holding onto burst out at once. His hands tugged at his hair, and tears streamed down his face constantly. He felt someone hug him close, but he didn't react. He simply cried. And cried.

Belphegor cried until he had no voice left in him anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It gets worse before it gets better I promise. Merry Christmas?? hdhjsdk  
> This scene was on my head since I started writing it, so I was anxious to write it. There are other impactful scenes to come that I'm also looking forward to write, one I even drew for it... I'll share when it's time. Which won't be for a while now but look forward to it!  
> It's been really fun to plan for this fic - planning for fics isn't my forte usually - so I'd love to know what anyone reading might be thinking and finding the fic so far!


	4. Chapter 4

Yuki was beside themself with worry. It had been almost a whole day since Belphegor had spotted his brother, Beel. (Yuki knew he was his brother because they remembered Belphegor mentioning it before, and they took care to pay attention to small details like that.) After Belphegor’s breakdown when they had come back, he was silent again. It wasn't out of fear like before, but something even worse, akin to conforming to despair. A hopelessness much like a depressive episode.

Yuki managed to tuck him in his bed before dinner, since he was already there anyway, but Belphegor didn't actually sleep or nap as they expected. He just stared at the wall. When Yuki called him for dinner, he didn't move. The same at breakfast. Yuki made sure to leave his breakfast on the nightstand before going to work, but it was untouched when they returned. Belphegor had been underweight when he came to their house, and he had just started to get a healthy glow. This couldn't be… No, Yuki refused to sit back and just watch him wither away.

That's how they found themself driving back to that farm.

Before they left, they had made sure to warn Belphegor they were leaving. As the demon hadn’t made any sign of hearing them, Yuki nudged him. Still nothing. Maybe with the element of surprise, they could get his attention? So they tried kissing the top of his forehead lightly, and found a pair of purple-pink eyes staring back at them. They smiled. "I'll be leaving for a bit, okay? Please eat something." The demon nodded, but didn't move otherwise, and Yuki figured he still needed some time.

Or a better incentive.

As they drove, Yuki thought of ways to explain their return to the farm. Most of what they came up with were poor excuses, but some of them might work. It just didn’t explain why they had gone to that specific farm to purchase one of the owner's demons… maybe Yuki could claim it was a friend's recommendation…? No, it had to be something the owner couldn’t try to look into later...

Lost in their thoughts, they almost didn’t realize they arrived at their destination.

It wasn't hard to speak to the owner of the farm as he lived nearby - in a much nicer house than the barn and other farm buildings - and he seemed to be friendly enough that he did not mind being spoken to by a stranger. Yuki introduced themself, quickly complimented the farm and how eye-catching it was (for all the wrong reasons, though) making brief small talk, and then finally touched on their interest in purchasing a farm themself.

"You see, I've been thinking of investing in farmland. Nothing big, just something small I could retire to when I'm tired of city life."

"Oho, and you came here because of that?"

"Don't get me wrong," Yuki smiled politely, "I thought your farm was an inspiration, but I wouldn’t think of trying to purchase any of your land. I saw the efficiency here, and I thought maybe we could make a deal. I’m not asking for much, really, I just thought I'd see if you’d be willing to part with one of your labour demons to help me start my farm."

And there it was. Yuki had made their proposal, and they were so,  _ so _ nervous. They weren't sure what they'd do if he refused. They weren't quite ready to steal (or would it be kidnapping) yet, but they absolutely could not go back empty-handed. After some thought, he laughed, and Yuki felt their blood run cold. What did it mean…?

"You're bold, I like that. Well, it is true you can’t start a farm on your own, even a little one would be too much for a small one like you," Yuki wasn't pleased at being called  _ small _ but they only smiled back, "and I suppose you don't know the first thing about buying a labour demon, eh?"

"Yeah, you got me, it's been my little impulse decision, and I went directly to my inspiration before doing more research," they half lied. It was an impulse decision, but they weren't inspired by this filthy farm that exploited demons.

"Alright, come with me, lemme show the ones I have."

He took Yuki to the fields. Now, the main problem: Yuki didn't actually  _ know _ what Beel looked like. They had hoped they could mention his name and he would attend to it, but it'd be suspicious if they went around calling 'Beel' over and over. Yuki really didn't want the owner of the farm to catch on that Yuki specifically wanted to reunite two demon brothers. It would be seen as a waste of time at best, at worst, a rebellion against this system.

Yuki wasn't actively involved with such rebellious factions  _ yet _ and wanted to enjoy not being hunted by authorities for at least a little while longer.

Once they were close enough to where the demons were working - harvesting before winter truly fell it seemed - the owner called out to them. Obediently, the demons returned, and kneeled down before the two humans. Yuki didn't like this, but pretended it wasn't a big deal. It made them uncomfortable to have beings so similar to themself act submissive towards them because they were a human. The owner began speaking about a few of the demons there, listing attributes, discouraging some demons, as they walked and inspected the line up. Then Yuki passed by a demon that was very muscular, but looked pained. They tried to look away quickly, but something caught their eye.

It was the same purple-pink eyes that were waiting for them at home.

They stopped immediately, which the man seemed not to notice. Yuki quickly took advantage of the situation and whispered lowly, "Beel?"

Purple-pink eyes met theirs, surprise written on his face.

"What about this one?" Yuki blurted, pointing at the demon who was supposedly Beel. The older man stopped and looked at him, then frowned, shaking his head.

"I wouldn’t recommend him. He's quite a hassle for a beginner- very strong, yes, but starves quicker than others. He's like a bottomless pit, a glutton, really."

Shit, what could they say…? Yuki looked at the demon again, who was staring at the ground once more. His eyes shimmered with something that looked like he was… ashamed?

"He seems very well behaved, though. I'd appreciate a tamer demon more, even if I have more expenses."

Turns out that was a  _ very  _ good argument, as the man couldn't deny his behaviour. This demon was the tamest of all on the farm, and really didn't offer much benefit; his strength was the only thing the farmer was after. 

"A word of warning, though, he might raid your stock of food. Really, it's actually a better deal for me than you, but I'm not complaining. Punishing him by making him go without food doesn't help either- he faints. A real hassle."

Yuki took an even bigger leap of faith and requested to have the papers prepared right away, so they could take the demon home with them, and take the “burden” off the farmer. It was an odd request, and seemed to raise the man’s suspicions of their intentions, but Yuki's decisive words ended any arguments that may have come forth: "I can pay everything upfront."

And so Yuki found themself driving back home with a massive demon in their backseat (even if the others handling him wanted to put him in the trunk, he wouldn’t fit) who looked more confused than anything.

#######

Yuki tried to make small talk, but similar to Belphegor when he first arrived, 'Beel' didn't respond at all. Once Yuki arrived home, they sighed and turned to the demon.

"Listen, I really need to know something before we go in. They called you 'Nick' at that farm, and that's what's on the papers, but your name is really Beel, isn't it?"

It took a bit before the demon reluctantly nodded. He seemed very guarded and afraid of Yuki, which would be funny, considering how he was probably double their size, if it wasn't so sad. Yuki on the other hand seemed relieved; their eyes  _ were _ the same so he had to be Beel.

"I'm going to take you inside my home now, okay?" Beel was flabbergasted. He, a labour demon, inside a human house? "Please come with me- and walk on your legs only, really, it saves time. I promise it'll be alright."

It wasn’t like he had many choices on the matter. When the car door opened, he left it, hunched over in an attempt to look smaller, and followed Yuki. Once inside, though, he stopped. He was so… afraid. This was all unknown to him. He had never been inside a human house and it all seemed so small and fragile. He was afraid he would break something, make his new owner mad, and be heavily punished. Yuki seemed to understand, as they just said, "It's okay, you can stay there for a bit. Just wait for me, okay? I'm going to get someone."

Beel couldn't have known who it was, so he only nodded, trying not to overthink too much. He had obeyed everything he was told to do, so it should be fine, right? Even if this new human seemed so… strange.

Yuki quickly walked back to Belphegor's room, and spotted him in the same position as when they had left. They sighed at his still untouched breakfast. But it was fine, they were sure he would be alright once he saw who Yuki brought. "Belphegor," they called, and this time the demon didn't take a lot of persuasion to look at them, "Come here a second." No movement. "Please?"

Belphegor figured he might as well do whatever it was that Yuki wanted, but he felt like he had no energy… he really just wanted to end this reality and warp to something better. Nicer. Then he noticed Yuki right next to him, tugging at his sleeve. "Please, Belphegor." Oh, fine, he might as well humour this human. At least for this one’s remaining life span, he'd probably be okay. He slowly rose from his bed, hair a bedheaded mess, and let himself be lightly pulled by Yuki towards the living room. They seemed excited, for whatever it was. It was a shame he couldn't share the sentiment no matter… what….

Then Belphegor saw his twin brother.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing for a second, so he rubbed his eyes, blinked, and looked at Yuki - when they nodded, he let himself believe. "Beel?" He called out and the other rose his head, shock evident on his face

"Belphie…?"

Yuki had never seen Belphegor actually smile, and once they did, they decided to treasure that moment close to their heart. It was such a pure, childishly innocent smile. Yuki was only able to glimpse it for a moment, however, as he quickly ran to his brother and all but tackled him - which, naturally, didn't even budge the massive demon.

"BEEL! It IS you!! How long has it been-- oh who cares, you're here!" Belphegor felt like he had been forcibly removed from a depressive state to ecstasy. He reached up to hold his twin brother's face in his hands as if to certify indeed that he was here and he was real. 

Beelzebub, as happy as he was, had a harder time believing it to be real. He did, however, hold his little brother when tackled and, once his face was held, studied his features. He seemed healthy, in good clothes, and Beel thought that he probably looked awful standing next to him. Maybe that was the difference between a house demon and a labour demon? That was what the humans had called them before they separated the two of them… Not that it mattered much, if Belphie had had it better than him this whole time, he was glad. Belphie didn't deserve what he had been through. With that in mind, he hugged his little brother once again.

The twins clung tightly to each other, and not wanting to interrupt such a heartfelt reunion, Yuki left. They also had things to do...

After what felt like a long time, Belphegor finally thought past the surprise and happiness to more practical concerns. “Beel?” Beelzebub looked back at his younger twin, and saw the concern in the smaller demon’s features. “You’re okay, right? I mean, you look so thin, but…” Belphegor pressed his lips together. If  _ he _ was often starving before, he couldn’t imagine how Beel would have been. He looked around for Yuki, but the human was nowhere to be seen. What was that oddball doing now? He decided to focus back on his brother. “You’re all dirty, do you want to take a shower or--”

“I’m fine,” Beel said finally, stopping his brother from tugging him further inside the house. He must indeed be too dirty to be inside a human house, which is why he didn’t want to go any further. A shower wouldn’t work, at least not with the usual ones he had, plus he’d get dirt further inside the house and didn’t want that. Nonetheless, without the human around, he allowed himself to smile. “I missed you, Belphie.”

It hit Belphegor that this must have been how  _ he _ looked when he had arrived at Yuki’s house. Scared, not wanting to come inside, wary of everything… He bit his lip. It was still odd a human would have felt anything beyond maybe pity for him, but it gave Belphie some perspective on Yuki’s behaviour when he first came. He took a deep breath before speaking to his twin again, “I missed you too, Beel,” a small sad smile graced his face before it knitted in concern again. “You’re hungry, right? I’ll get you someth--”

“No-” Beelzebub grabbed his twin by the wrist, stopping the other from going away. He had missed him so much that he didn’t want him to go away and risk never seeing him again. “Please don’t go. It’s been so long... I don’t want to be alone again…” he said with a frail voice, looking directly into the other’s eyes.

This broke Belphegor’s heart. He hugged his twin once again, but tighter this time. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? It’s okay. Really. Look, Yuki might be weird as hell, but so far they’ve been acceptable. They don’t hit me, they actually feed me, and sometimes they do weird stuff, like bringing me a notebook. Or you.” He held his older twin’s shoulders as he looked at their face, and smiled, “But I’ll be here with you. So don’t worry.”

Beelzebub might have cried, but he only nodded, trying to stay strong despite the inner turmoil inside him. He was scared but also happy, for unlike Belphegor, he had held onto the hope that something would change for the better, and here he was. He was so glad he had held onto this hope until now.

Before Belphegor tried to call for Yuki, as he knew Beel must have needed to eat no matter how much he may have prioritized being with his twin over food, they showed up with a tray in their hands. Beel looked confused, and upon having a human around returned to looking at the floor, but kept clinging to his twin’s shirt. Yuki approached them and held out the tray, which Belphegor took from them. Beel was almost trying to hide behind him - a useless endeavour, as Belphie was smaller. “It’s your reheated breakfast and also lunch from today for Beel. Please eat too, okay? You haven’t eaten since yesterday.” Yuki looked concerned, and Belphegor looked away, much like a guilty child. “I will, I will.”

Turning to his twin, Belphegor tried to apply the same strategy Yuki had done with him - instead of trying to get him to a table, he’d just eat on the floor with him. “Hey Beel, let’s sit on the floor and eat this. It looks weird from what we usually eat, before and after humans, but it’s not bad. I’m sure you’re hungry, you always are.”

As if on cue, his stomach let out a loud growl, which startled Yuki and made Belphie smile. He hadn’t noticed how much he missed the little things with his brother. He even chuckled as he noticed the mortified look on Beel’s face and his reddening cheeks, then sat on the floor with the tray. “C’mon, join me.”

It took a bit, but Beelzebub joined his twin on the floor. Seeing food right in front of him - fresh, warm food, nothing spoiled or like the kibble he’d usually get - he couldn’t really help himself. Despite his fear, he was  _ starving _ . He had been starving for so long. He always gobbled up anything he was given, but it wasn’t more than twice a day. This was a blessed opportunity in which he was given a little more food than usual and maybe he wouldn’t feel so much pain from starvation. In a flash, his food was gone, and Belphegor just chuckled as Beel kept eyeing his plate. He took a slice of toast for himself and pushed his plate to his brother, who only hesitated for a moment before devouring it as well.

They remained on the floor for a while, Belphie coaching Beel to talk and tell him how things had been. Belphie also shared a little on how he had been doing, and what he knew about Yuki to Beel, and they reminisced about the old days, with their family. Yuki observed for a bit, but decided to retreat and give them a little privacy, as they must have had a lot to catch up on. Plus, they needed to readjust some things, as they had bought Beel completely unprepared to lodge another demon in their house.

#######

At dinnertime, Yuki arrived again with dinner for them both. Beel still looked at them warily, but Yuki didn't blame him. He must still be shaky. So, as soon as they had given the tray to Belphegor, they returned further inside the house. Belphegor wasn't sure why, but he didn't like that as much as he thought he would. In fact, he didn't like it at all. He felt pretty indebted to Yuki, now that they had actually done part of what they had promised to do - bring him his family.

Beelzebub noticed the frown on his twin's face and mirrored it with one of his own. It must be because of that human, he figured. After having rested in this warm house, getting fed, and with his positive attitude, Beel started to really believe his twin's words. The human seemed okay, so he spoke, "Go on, Belphie. You want to talk to them, right?"

Belphegor was surprised. He thought it over, before shaking his head. "Not… now. Later, maybe." That confused the older twin, but he didn't press, not that he could have with his mouth stuffed full with the delicious dish the human had handed them. It was easy to hold in his hands and had many things inside which were so delicious. He wondered what it was called?

After dinner, Belphegor stood up. "You feeling better?" The smile on his brother's face let him know it was a complete success, so he smiled. "Good. Look, I'll guarantee the floor isn't that bad to sleep on, but a bed is better. At least a shower…?"

Why was Belphie insisting on this again? Beel wasn't made to be indoors… he shouldn't, no, couldn't step further. Belphie sighed and nodded. "I'll be right back."

As he waited patiently, Beel looked at what he could see of the house. It was cozy. Small for him, for sure, but probably fine for such a tiny human. When Belphegor came back, he spread something on the floor. "Here. Step on these newspapers and you won't get the floor dirty, and we can get you clean. Like, actually clean. The water is warm, even. I'll join you so you won't be alone, okay?"

With further gentle persuasion, Belphie managed to get Beel under the shower. He really needed it, considering he had been out in the fields and there was mud caked on his feet. Belphie made sure to help him wash his hair, but it wasn't until they were done he noticed he had forgotten some things.

First, an extra towel. Second, clothes. Beel's old clothes were… filthy, really. So that was out of the question. He grabbed a towel and called for Yuki from his spot behind the bathroom door, to which they came running. "Do you have more towels and clothes?"

Yuki smiled - so Belphegor had managed to get Beel to shower! "I'll get a towel in a second, and his new clothes."

His new clothes turned out to be a set of pyjamas that were tight fitting on him. Once Belphegor stepped outside with Beel, Yuki apologised, "Sorry, I didn't have anything quite as big, and I hadn't really… planned ahead for bringing you here. I'll get you some more clothes that are  _ actually _ your size tomorrow, don't worry!" They said with a smile to Beel, even as he looked away and stepped behind Belphegor upon being addressed. Then they turned to Belphie, "I also didn't have a mattress as big as he is, but I put my spare one in your room. If you need anything, you can wake me up, okay?"

Belphegor nodded. So far he had never stepped foot inside Yuki's room, but if he needed to for his twin, he would. He guided Beel by the hand to the guest bedroom and Belphegor sat by the bed. "It's not very late, but you're probably tired, right?"

Beelzebub stared. A… mattress? For  _ him _ ? Unlike Belphegor, he didn't hesitate because he felt like it was a trap, but more like he shouldn't have it as he was too big and brute for soft things like that. He can't-

"Beel," Belphie's soft voice interrupted his thoughts, and their identical eyes met, "it's okay. It won't bite you, there's no problem with you using it. Hell, I have a  _ bed _ . Crazy, right?" He chuckled. "C’mon, I'm sure this is better than what you had, right?"

It was… but too much so. He decided to trust his twin that it was okay for him to use. He laid down on and was too tall for it, but with some shifting he fit once he hugged his legs. Belphie chuckled at the sight.

"You really grew a lot. You were always bigger than me, but still…", he laid on his bed, turning to his twin, "Hey, Beel?" His twin looked up at him. "I'm really glad you're here."

"Me too, Belphie." Beel smiled warmly back. "This feels like a dream… I got to see you again, I ate well, I'm even clean…"

"You didn't eat that much, I'm sure you're probably hungry. Or will be later. If you get really hungry, I'll get you something, so don't worry about waking me up."

Mortified, Beelzebub looked at the door and then at Belphie, "You don't mean… to steal their food…?"

Belphie shrugged. "They kept saying I could grab anything from their fridge, that it was fine. I did it once, and the fridge didn’t have any traps or anything."

Traps? Leave it to Belphie to think of such things ahead of time… "But… You're a house demon, I'm not-"

"You're my brother, Beel, and if Yuki's got a problem with that it’ll be over my dead body." He huffed, then softened his features, "Well, not that I think they would, but… anyway. How did they even know it was you? I didn't say anything about you to them, so they wouldn't know what you looked like or anything."

"They called me by name." Beel thought back, then corrected himself, "Well, not my name, but my nickname. They called me 'Beel', and I was so surprised I looked at them… and they just said they wanted to purchase me."

"Oh," Belphegor  _ had _ screamed his name pretty loudly. "... I don't think they know your actual name yet. Or who you are exactly, if they don't know your whole name." A yawn, and the sleepy demon snuggled further into his blankets. "I'm getting sleepy though, I'll warn them tomorrow…"

"Belphie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we… hold hands? I know you probably don't have your magic back, but… maybe if I hold your hand, I won't have nightmares."

"...Sure." Belphegor could easily imagine what kind of nightmares Beel had. Despite the frequency of his own lowering now, he would still wake up crying sometimes. He held his hand out to his twin, who took it. They fell asleep holding each other's hand like they would when they were children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took longer to update even though the chapter had been ready for a while because of holidays haha, it threw me off and left me little time or energy to fix my mistakes my beta pointed out to me. (I always make sure to read so I try to make fewer mistakes later) Hopefully this new year is good for all of you as it started to be for Belphie!  
> I don't feel like I know how to write Beel well, so if he seems ooc, I'm so sorry. I tried my best to imagine how he'd be like in such a situation and considering his gentle giant nature this is how it came out. I've never written most of the seven brothers and since they'll all show up, this will be a challenge...


End file.
